After winning a sixth ODI World Cup in India, Australian captain Pat Cummins arrived in Sydney on Wednesday morning at a relatively deserted airport. At the airport, only media members greeted the 30-year-old and other players.
The sights were very different from how stars in Indian sports, particularly cricketers, are greeted when they play well or win a major championship.
Australia surprised everyone by defeating tournament favorites and hosts India in the grand finals in Ahmedabad.
Following defeats in their first two matches, Cummins and company rattled off nine straight wins, including the semi-final and final, to complete an incredible triumph run.
Here’s a video of Pat Cummins arriving home after a lackluster welcome at the airport:
Various observers have lauded Cummins for his excellent captaincy throughout the competition, notably in the championship game.
Starting with his decision to bowl first, rotating the bowlers, and establishing the ideal fields, the Australian captain was bang on. His aggressive actions aided the club in limiting the feared Indian batting order to 240 runs.
In response, Travis Head’s stunning 137 and Marnus Labuschagne’s crucial 58* helped Australia cruise to a six-wicket victory in just 43 overs.
“Kind of remember that you just won a World Cup and get excited all over again” – Pat Cummins
Pat Cummins confessed that he’s still processing the reality of being world champions since landing in Sydney. The 30-year-old captained Australia to the World Test Championship (WTC) crown with a win against India in this year’s final.
The main group of Australian cricketers kept the Ashes in England not long ago and topped it off with a victory in the 2021 T20 World Cup, marking an incredible two-year span.
Cummins informed media upon his arrival at Sydney Airport:
“I think we’ll be smiling for a fair while. We are still buzzing. Every half an hour so, you kind of remember that you just won a World Cup and get excited all over again. You only get one chance every four years and especially playing somewhere like India, it’s hard.”
“To be pitted up against the rest of the world and come away with a medal, it doesn’t get any better than that,” Pat Cummins continued. “Adding to that an away Ashes series, a World Test Championship, we couldn’t have planned for much better. It almost became sudden death.
“The belief never left, even at the start we knew we hadn’t played our best, but we kind of knew once we clicked we could take on anyone, and that proved to be the case.”
Pat Cummins
Still, due to a crowded global agenda, the Aussies return to the field for the five-game T20I series against India. It begins on November 23.
However, Cummins takes a break for this series, but will bounce back for the three-Test home series against Pakistan in Perth. It starts on December 14.
